A more despotic, capricious, oppressive and unjustifiable exercise of government power than that manifested in this case can scarcely be found in the sordid annals of the Martial Law regime. Relief to the victims must be, as it is hereby, extended by the grant to them of the extraordinary writ of certiorari and prohibition condemning as unconstitutional, and annulling and perpetually enjoining the acts complained of.

Petitioner spouses, the Tuasons, were retired public school teachers. On April 6, 1965, with funds pooled from their retirement benefits and savings, they bought from Carmel Farms, Inc. [hereafter simply, Carmel] a piece of land measuring about 8,756 square meters, in the latter's subdivision in Barrio Makatipo, Caloocan City. In virtue of this sale, Carmel's Torrens Title [No. 64007] over the lot was cancelled and a new one [No. 8314] issued in the name of the Tuasons. The Tuasons took possession of their property.

Some eight [8] years thereafter, the Tuasons' travails began. They woke up one morning to discover that by presidential flat, they were no longer the owners of the land they had purchased with their hard-earned money, and that their land and the other lots in the subdivision had been "declared open for disposition and sale to the members of the Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc., the present bona fide occupants thereof."

On September 14, 1973, a year almost to the day after the declaration of Martial Law, Mr. Ferdinand Marcos, then president of the country, invoking his emergency powers, issued Presidential Decree No. 293 with immediate effect. The Decree invalidated, inter alia, the title of the Tuasons' vendor, Carmel, which had earlier purchased from the Government the land it had subsequently subdivided into several lots for sale to the public[(the Tuasons being among the buyers]. The land bought by Carmel was part of the Tala Estate [one of the so-called "Friar Lands"]. Carmel had bought the land under Act No. 1120 and C.A. No. 32, as amended. Under these statutes:

[1] a bona fide settler or occupant was allowed to purchase [if he did not wish to lease] the portion occupied by him at the price fixed by the Government, in cash or on installment; the interested buyer was given a certificate of sale, which was regarded as an agreement by him to pay the purchase price in the and at the interest specified, the acceptance of such certificate making the occupant a debtor of the government;

[2] until the price was fully paid, however, title was reserved in the Government, and any sale or encumbrance made by the purchaser prior to such full payment was explicitly declared to "be invalid as against the Government and, in all respects, subordinate to its prior claim;"

[3] in the event of default by a purchaser to pay any installment of purchase money and interest thereon, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands [now Director of Lands] had the duty at once to protect the Government from loss by bringing suit to obtain judicial authority to enforce the Government's lien on the property and by selling it in the same manner as for foreclosure of mortgages, the purchaser at such sale being deemed to acquire a good and indefeasible title, and the proceeds of the sale being applied to the payment of the costs of the court and all installments due or to become due; and

[4] in the event of completion of payment, the Government transferred title to the land to the purchaser "by proper instrument of conveyance", the certificate of title over the land to issue and become effective in the manner provided by the Land Registration Act.[1]

Said Presidential Decree No. 293 made the finding[2] that Carmel had failed to complete payment of the price. It adjudged that:

According to the records of the Bureau of Lands, neither the original purchasers nor their subsequent transferees have made full payment of all installments of the purchase money and interest on the lots claimed by the Carmel Farms, Inc., including those on which the dwellings of the members of said Association[3] stand. Hence, title to said land has remained with the Government and the land now occupied by the members of said Association has never ceased to form part of the property of the Republic of the Philippines, any and all acts affecting said land and purporting to segregate it from the said property of the Republic of the Philippines being, therefore, null and void ab initio as against the law and public policy.

Upon this adjudgment, Mr. Marcos invalidated the titles of Carmel Farms, Inc. and all those derived therefrom, and declared as aforestated "the members of the Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc. the present bona fide occupants" of the lots which, in consequence, thereby became open to them for "disposition and sale pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 32, as amended."[4] It seems to have completely escaped Mr. Marcos' attention that his Decree contained contradictory declarations. While acknowledging, on the one hand, that the lots in the Carmel Subdivision were occupied by the buyers thereof, and in fact the latter's dwellings stood thereon, he states on the other that the "members of the Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc. [are] the present bona fide occupants" of all said lots. The latter averment is not only essentially inconsistent with the former but is both a physical and legal fallacy. Well-known is the rule of physics that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. And the absurdity of the subsumed proposition is self-evident for persons not in possession of land, who probably have not even set foot thereon, cannot be deemed "occupants" thereof, much less "bona fide" occupants.

But this notwithstanding and upon the factual premise already indicated, Mr. Marcos disposed of the land of the petitioner spouses and others similarly situated as they, in the following imperious manner:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation 1081 dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, do hereby order and decree that any and all sales contracts between the government and the original purchasers, are hereby cancelled, and those between the latter and the subsequent transferees, and any and all transfers thereafter, covering Lots 979, 981, 982, 985, 988, 989, 990, 991 new, 1226, 1228, 1230, and 980-C-2 [LRC PSD-1730], all of Tala Estate, Caloocan City, are hereby declared invalid and null and void ab initio as against the Government; that Transfer Certificates of Title Nos. 62603, 62604, 62605, covering Lots 1, 2 and 3, PCS-4383, all in the name of Carmel Farms, Inc., which are a consolidation and subdivision survey of the lots hereinbefore enumerated, are declared invalid and considered cancelled as against the Government; and that said lots are declared open for disposition and sale to the members of the Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc., the present bona fide occupants thereof, pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 32, as amended.

On the strength of this Presidential Decree, the Register of Deeds of Caloocan City caused the inscription on the Tuasons' title, TCT No. 8314, of the following:

MEMORANDUM. Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 293, this Certificate of Title is declared invalid and null and void ab initio and considered cancelled as against the Government and the property described herein is declared open for disposition and sale to the members of the Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc.

The Tuason Spouses thereupon filed with this Court a petition for certiorari assailing the Marcos Decree as an arbitrary measure which deprived them of their property in favor of a selected group, in violation not only of the constitutional provisions on due process and eminent domain[5] but also of the provisions of the Land Registration Act on the indefeasibility of Torrens titles;[6] and they prayed that the Register of Deeds be directed to cancel the derogatory inscription on their title and restore its efficacy, or in the alternative, that they be compensated for the loss from the Assurance Fund.

Mr. Marcos' Solicitor General sought to sustain the Decree. In his Comment on the Petition,[7] he questioned the propriety of the remedy of certiorari resorted to by the petitioners, it not appearing that the public respondents were being sued as judicial or quasi-judicial officers who had acted without or in excess of their jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion. He opined that the petitioner spouses had no cause to complain of unjust deprivation of property because in legal contemplation,[8] they had never become owners thereof because of non-payment of the purchase price by their predecessor-in-interest; and the Decree was justifiable under the social justice clause of the Constitution and the police power, being in response to the pressing housing need of the employees of the Office of the President who were left homeless and landless after they were asked to vacate Malacanang Park where they had theretofore been residing. He expressed the view, too, that petitioner spouses were not entitled to recover anything from the Assurance Fund.

Petitions for intervention have of late been filed by sixty-four [64] persons, members of the "Consuelo Heights Homeowners Association" headed by Tomasa Bartolome, on the claim that they, too, had been divested of their lands by the same Presidential Decree No. 293, adopting as their own, the allegations and prayer embodied in the Tuasons' petition.

The procedural issue is quite easily disposed of. It is true that the extraodinary writ of certiorari[9] may properly issue to nullify only judicial or quasi-judicial acts, unlike the writ of prohibition which may be directed against acts either judicial or ministerial. Section 1, Rule 65 of the Rules of Court deals with the writ of certiorari in relation to "any tribunal, board or officer exercising judicial functions, while Section 2 of the same Rule treats of the writ of prohibition in relation to "proceedings of any tribunal, corporation, board, or person exercising functions judicial or ministerial." But the petition will be shown upon analysis to be in reality directed against an unlawful exercise of judicial power.

The Decree reveals that Mr. Marcos exercised an obviously judicial function. He made a determination of facts and applied the law to those facts, declaring what the legal rights of the parties were in the premises. These acts essentially constitute a judicial function,[10] or an exercise of jurisdiction which is the power and authority to hear or try and decide or determine a cause.[11] He adjudged it to be an established fact that neither the original purchasers nor their subsequent transferees have made full payment of all installments of the purchase money and interest on the lots claimed by Carmel Farms, Inc., including those on which the dwellings of the members of the Association [of homeowners] stand." And applying the law to that situation, he made the adjudication that "title to said land has remained with the Government, and the land now occupied by the members of said association has never ceased to form part of the property of the Republic of the Philippines," and that "any and all acts affecting said land and purporting to segregate it from the said property of the Republic were null and void ab initio as against the law and public policy."

These acts may thus be properly struck down by the writ of certiorari because done by an officer in the performance of what in essence is a judicial function, if it be shown that the acts were done without or in excess of jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion. Since Mr. Marcos was never vested with judicial power, such power, as everyone knows, being vested in the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as may be established by law,[12] the judicial acts done by him were in the circumstances indisputably perpetrated without jurisdiction. The acts were completely alien to his office as Chief Executive and utterly beyond the permissible scope of the legislative power that he had assumed as head of the Martial Law regime.

Moreover, he had assumed to exercise power i.e., determined the relevant facts and applied the law thereto without a trial at which all interested parties were accorded the opportunity to adduce evidence to furnish the basis for a determination of the facts material to the controversy. He made the finding ostensibly on the basis of "the records of the Bureau of Lands." Prescinding from the fact that there is no indication whatever the nature and reliability of these records and that they are in no sense conclusive, it is undeniable that the petitioner Tuasons [and the petitioners in intervention] were never confronted with those records and afforded a chance to dispute their trustworthiness and present countervailing evidence. This is yet another fatal defect. The adjudication was patently and grossly violative of the right to due process to which the petitioners are entitled in virtue of the Constitution. Mr. Marcos, in other words, not only arrogated unto himself a power never granted to him by the Constitution or the laws but had, in addition, exercised it unconstitutionally.

In any event, this Court has it in its power to treat the Petition for Certiorari as one for Prohibition if the averments of the former sufficiently made out a case for the latter.[13] Considered in this wise, it will also appear that an executive officer had acted without jurisdiction, exercised judicial power not granted to him by the Constitution or the laws, and had, furthermore, performed the act in violation of the constitutional rights of the parties thereby affected. The Court will grant such relief as may be proper and efficacious in the premises even if not specifically sought or set out in the prayer of the appropriate pleading, the permissible relief being determined after all not by the prayer but by the basic averments of the parties' pleadings.[14]

There is no dispute about the fact that title to the land purchased by Carmel was actually issued to it by the Government. This, of course, gives rise to the strong presumption that official duty has been regularly performed,[15] that official duty being in this case the ascertainment by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands of the fulfillment of the condition prescribed by law for such issuance, i.e., the payment in full of the price, together with all accrued interest. Against this presumption, there is no evidence. It must, hence, be accorded full sway in these proceedings. Furthermore, the title having been duly issued to Carmel, it became "effective in the manner provided in Section one hundred and twenty-two of the Land Registration Act."[16]

It may well be the fact that Carmel really did fail to make full payment of the price of the land purchased by it from the Government pursuant to the provisions of Act 1120. This is a possibility that cannot be totally discounted. If this be the fact, the Government may bring suit to recover the unpaid installments and interest, invalidate any sale or encumbrance involving the land subject of the sale, and enforce the lien of the Government against the land by selling the same in the manner provided by Act Numbered One Hundred and Ninety for the foreclosure of mortgages.[17] This it can do, despite the lapse of a considerable period of time. Prescription does not lie against the Government. But until and unless such a suit is brought and results in a judgment favorable to the Government, the acquisition of title by Carmel and the purchases by the petitioners and the petitioners-intervenors from it of portions of the land covered by its original title must be respected. At any rate, the eventuation of that contingency will not and cannot in any manner affect this Court's conclusion, herein affirmed, of the unconstitutionality and invalidity of Presidential Decree No. 293, and the absolute lack of any right to the land or any portion thereof on the part of the members of the so-called "Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc." The Decree was not as claimed a licit instance of the application of social justice principles or the exercise of police power. It was in truth a disguised, vile stratagem deliberately resorted to favor a few individuals, in callous and disdainful disregard of the rights of others. It was, in reality, a taking of private property without due process and without compensation whatever, from persons relying on the indefeasibility of their titles in accordance with and as explicitly guaranteed by law.

One last word respecting the petitioners in intervention. Their petition to intervene substantially fulfilled the requirements laid down for a class suit[18] and was consequently given due course by the Court. They are, therefore, covered by this judgment.

WHEREFORE, Presidential Decree No. 293 is declared to be unconstitutional and void ab initio in all its parts. The public respondents are commanded to cancel the inscription on the titles of the petitioners and the petitioners in intervention of the memorandum declaring their titles null and void and declaring the property therein respectively described open for disposition and sale to the members of the Malacanang Homeowners Association, Inc. to do whatever else is needful to restore the titles to full effect and efficacy; and henceforth, to refrain, cease and desist from implementing any provision or part of said Presidential Decree No. 293. No pronouncement as to costs.

SO ORDERED.

\

Last Poem of Rizal

Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,
It is the same if asked by home and Country.

I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show
And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,
My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,
Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient,
Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane
Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.

My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,
Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity !

If over my tomb some day, you would see blow,
A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses,
Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so,
And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow,
Warmth of your breath, a whiff of your tenderness.

Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry,
Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light,
In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh,
And should a bird descend on my cross and alight,
Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site.

Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize
And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky;
Let a friend shed tears over my early demise;
And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high,
Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I.

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,

For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see you own redemption.

And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry
And only the dead to vigil there are left alone,
Don't disturb their repose, don't disturb the mystery:
If you hear the sounds of cithern or psaltery,
It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.

And when my grave by all is no more remembered,
With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:
Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.

My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, harken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,
Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.

Mi Ultimo Adios

por Jose Rizal y Alonso

Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida,
Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestra perdido Eden!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera mas brillante, mas fresca, mas florida,
Tambien por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio
Otros te dan sus vida sin dudas, sin pesar;
El sitio nada importa, cipres, laurel o lirio,
Cadalso o campo abierto, combate o cruel martirio,
Lo mismo es si lo piden La Patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora
Y al fin anuncia el dia tras lobrego capuz;
Si grana necesitas para tenir tu aurora,
Vierte la sangre mia, derramala en buen hora
Y dorela un reflejo de su naciente luz

Mis suenos cuando apenas muchaco adolescente,
Mis suenos cuando joven ya lleno de vigor,
Fueron el verte un dia, joya del Mar de Oriente
Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,
Sin ceno, sin arrugas, sin mancha de rubor.

Ensueno de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo,
Salud te grita el alma que pronto va a partir!
Salud! ah, que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,
Morir por darte vidda, morir bajo tu cielo,
Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir.

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un dia
Entre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor,
Acercala a tus labios y besa el alma mia,
Y sienta yo en mi frente bajo la tumba fria
De tu ternura el soplo, de tu halito el calor.

Deja la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave;
Deja que el alba envie su resplandor fugaz,
Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave,
Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave
Deja que el ave entone su cantico de paz.

Deja que el sol ardiendo las lluvias evapore
Y al cielo tornen puras con mi clamor en pos,
Deja que un ser amigo mi fin temprano llore
Y en las serenas tardes cuando por mi alguien ore
Ora tambien, Oh Patria, por mi descanso a Dios!

Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura,
Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual,
Por nuestros pobres madres que gimen su amargura;
Por huerfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura
Y ora por ti que veas tu redencion final.

Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerio
Y solos solo muertos quedan velando alli
No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio
Tal vez acordes oigas de citara o salterio,
Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto a ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada
No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,
Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,
Y mis cenizas antes que vuelvan a nada,
El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan a formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido,
Tu atmosfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzare,
Vibrante y limpia nota sere para tu oido,
Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido
Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fe.

Mi Patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,
Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adios.
Ahi, te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.
Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores,
Donde la fe no mata, donde el que reina es Dios.

Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mia;
Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,
Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso dia.
Adios, dulce extranjera, mi amiga, mi alegria!
Adios, queridos seres. Morir es descansar.

Huling Paalam

Paalam, bayan kong minamahal
lupa mong sagana sa sikat ng araw;
Edeng paraiso ang dito'y pumanaw
at Perlas ng dagat sa may Silanganan.

Buong kasiyahang inihahain ko
kahiman aba na ang buhay kong ito.
maging dakila ma'y alay rin sa iyo
kung ito'y dahil sa kaligayahan mo.

Ang nakikilabang dumog sa digmaan
inihahandog din ang kanilang buhay.
kahit kahirapa'y hindi gunamgunam
sa kasawian man o pagtatagumpay.

Maging bibitaya't, mabangis na sakit
o pakikilabang suong ay panganib
titiising lahat kung siyang nais
ng tahana't bayang aking iniibig.

Mamamatay akong sa aking pangmalas
silahis ng langit ay nanganganinag
ang pisgni ng araw ay muling sisikat
sa kabila nitong malamlam na ulap.

Kahit aking buhay, aking hinahangad
na aking ihandog kapag kailangan
sa ikaririlag ng yong pagsilang
dugo ko'y ibubo't kulay ay kuminang

Mulang magkaisip at lumaking sukat
pinangarap ko sa bait ay maganap;
ikaw'y mamasdan kong marikit na hiyas
na nakaliligid sa silangan dagat.

Sa bukas ng mukha'y, noo'y magniningning
sa mata'y wala nang luhang mapapait
wala ka ng poot, wala ng ligalig
walang kadungua't munti mang hilahil.

Sa aba kong buhay, may banal na nais
kagaling'y kamtan nang ito'y masulit
ng aking kaluluwang handa nang umalis
ligaya'y angkin mo, pagkarikit-dikit.

Nang ako'y maaba't, ikaw'y napataas,
ang ako'y mamatay nang ikaw'y mabigyan
ng isang buhay na lipos ng kariktan
sa ilalim ng langit ikaw ay mahimlay.

Kung sa ibang araw, mayroon kang mapansin
sa gitna ng mga damong masisinsin
nipot na bulaklak sa ibabaw ng libing
ito'y halikan mo't, itaos sa akin.

Sa bango ng iyong pagsuyong kay tamis
pagsintang sa dibdib may tanging angkin
hayaang noo ko'y tumanggap ng init
pagka't natabunan ng lupang malamig.

Hayaang ang buwan sa aki'y magmasid
kalat na liwanag, malamlam pa mandin;
Hayaang liwayway ihatid sa akin
ang banaag niyang dagling nagmamaliw.

Hayaang gumibik ang simoy ng hangin
hayaan sa himig masayang awitin
ng ibong darapo sa kurus ng libing
ang payapang buhay ay langit ng aliw.

Hayaang ang araw na lubhang maningas
gawing parang ulap sa patak ng ulan
maging panganorin sa langit umakyat
ang mga daing ko'y kasama't kalangkap.

Hayaang ang aking madaling pagpanaw
iluha ng mga labis na nagmahal
kapag may nag-usal sa akin ng dasal
ako'y iyo sanang idalangin naman.

Ipagdasal mo rin mga kapuspalad,
mga nangamatay pati naghihirap
mga dusa't sakit ina'y tumatanggap
ng tigib ng lungkot at luhang masaklap.

Ipagdasal mo rin mga naulila
at nangapipiit sakbibi ng diwa;
ipagdasal mo rin tubusing talaga
ang pagka-aliping laging binabata.

Kapag madilim na sa abang libingan
at nilalambungan ang gabing mapanglaw
walang nakatanod kundi pulos patay
huwag gambalain, ang katahimikan.

Magbigay-pitagan sa hiwagang lihim
at mauulinig wari'y mga tinig
ng isang salteryo, ito'y ako na rin
inaawitan ka ng aking pag-ibig.

Kung nalimutan na yaring aking libing
kurus man at bato'y wala na rin mandin
bayaang sa bukid lupa'y bungkalin
at ito'y isabong sa himpapawirin.

Limutin man ako'y di na kailangan
aking lilibuting iyong kalawakan
at dadalhin ako sa 'yong kaparangan
magiging taginting yaring alingawngaw.

Ang samyo, tinig at himig na masaya
kulay at liwanag may lugod sa mata
paulit-ulitin sa tuwi-tuwina
ang aking taimtim na nasa't pag-asa.

The song of traveler

A withered leaf which flies uncertainly
And hurled about by furious hurricanes,
So goes the traveler about the world,
No guide, no hope, no fatherland, no love.

Anxiously he seeks a better fortune
And fickle fortune always takes to flight;
A shadow vain that mocks at his desire!
For her the wanderer has plowed the seas.

Driven on by hands invisible,
Wandering from land to weary land,
Only memories to keep him company,
Of loved ones and of bygone happier days.

A tomb perhaps upon the desert
Calls him--refuge sweet of peace,--
Where, by his country and the world forgotten,
Tranquil he may sleep who knew such pain.

And if they envy this sad traveler
When he speeds so swiftly round the world,
Ah, little do they know that in his soul
Exist an aching void for want of love.

Should the wanderer turn back to his country,
And to his home, it may be, make his way,
He would find but snow and ruins everywhere,
All love destroyed, and sepulchres,--no more.

On, then, traveler, pursue your journey,
Stranger to the land where you were born.
Letting others sing their songs of love
And feel their joys, you fare on again.

And traveler, as you go, do not turn back,
For none will shed a tear to say farewell,
Go, pilgrim, try to drown your sorrow,
Because the world but scoffs when strangers grieve.

Canto Del Viajero

Hoja seca que cuela indecisa
Y arrebata violente turbion,
Asi vive en la tierra el viajero,
Sin norte, sin alma, sin patria ni amor.

Busca ansioso doquiera la dicha
Y la dicha se aleja fugaz:
Vana sombra que burla su anhelo! ...
Por ella el viajero se lanza a la mar!

Impelido por mano invisible
Vagara confin en confin;
Los recuedos le haran compania
De seres queridos, de un dia feliz.

Una tumba quiza en el desiero
Hallara, dulce asilo de paz,
De su patria y del mundo olvidado ...
Descanse tranquilo, tras tanto penar !

Y le envidian al triste viajero
Cuando cruza la tierra veloz ...
Ay! no saben que dentro del alma
Existe un vacio de falta el amor!

Volvera el peregrino a su patria
Y a sus lares tal vez volvera,
Y hallara por doquier nieve y ruina
Amores perdidos, sepulcros, no mas.

Ve, Viajero, prosigue tu senda,
Extrangero en tu propio pais;
Deja a otros que canten amores,
Los otros que gocen; tu vuelve a partir.

Ve, viajero, no vuelvas el rostro,
Que no hay llanto que siga al adios;
Ve, viajero, y ahoga tu penas;
Que el mundo se burla de ajeno dolor.

Awit Ng Manlalakbay

Kagaya ng dahong nalanta, nalagas,
Sinisiklut-siklot ng hanging marahas;
Abang manlalakbay ay wala nang liyag,
Layuin, kalulwa't bayang matatawag.

Hinahabul-habol yaong kapalarang
Mailap at hindi masunggab-sunggaban;
Magandang pag-asa'y kung nanlalabo man,
Siya'y patuloy ring patungo kung saan!

Sa udyok ng hindi nakikitang lakas,
Silanga't Kanlura'y kanyang nililipad,
Mga minamahal ay napapangarap,
Gayon din ang araw ng pamamanatag.

Sa pusod ng isang disyertong mapanglaw,
Siya'y maaaring doon na mamatay,
Limot ng daigdig at sariling bayan,
Kamtan nawa niya ang kapayapaan!

Dami ng sa kanya ay nangaiinggit,
Ibong naglalakaby sa buong daigdig,
Hindi nila tanto ang laki ng hapis
Na sa kanyang puso ay lumiligalig.

Kung sa mga tanging minahal sa buhay
Siya'y magbalik pa pagdating ng araw,
Makikita niya'y mga guho lamang
At puntod ng kanyang mga kaibigan.

Abang manlalakbay! Huwag nang magbalik,
Sa sariling baya'y wala kang katalik;
Bayaang ang puso ng iba'y umawit,
Lumaboy kang muli sa buong daigdig.

Abang manlalakbay! Bakit babalik pa?
Ang luhang inyukol sa iyo'y tuyo na;
Abang manlalakbay! Limutin ang dusa,
Sa hapis ng tao, mundo'y nagtatawa.

THEY ASK ME FOR VERSES

They ask me to play on a lyre
That long has been still and decayed,
But never a note have I played,
Nor can I the Muse re-inspire.
She chats without reason or fire
Until she has tortured my brain.
She chuckles to jeer at my pain;
She has mocked me the while I lamented.
In my soul, lonely, sad, and tormented,
Neither pleasure nor sorrow remain.

There once was a time, it is true--
A time that, alas, has departed.
When friends who were generous-hearted,
Applauded the verse I could do.
Of those happy days but a few
Obscured recollections yet stay,
As after some high holiday,
Still linger mysterious sounds;
Or, after the concert resounds,
The after tones whisper away.

For I am a plant immature,
Torn out of the Orient where
The perfumes sleep on the air
And life is a dream to allure.
Ah, memories ever endure,
My Country, of songs taught to me
By warbling birds from the tree,
The waterfall's silvery roar,
And out on the far-reaching shore,
The moan of the sounding sea.

While yet I was merely a child
I knew how to smile at your sun,
And inside my breast had begun,
Like volcanic fires to burn wild,
The desire that the verses complied
By a poet's keen vigorous mind,
Might cry to the swift moving wind;
"Speed away, and sing to proclaim
To the furthermost zones, of Her fame.
In earth and in heaven enshrined!"

I left Her, my Motherland home,
A tree stripped of leaves and turned dry.
Now gone are the carols that I
Once sang, e'er I started to roam
And churned the vast ocean's white foam,

To escape from my dread destiny:

Too foolish as yet to foresee
That instead of the good which I sought,
I should plow from the ocean waves naught
But a specter of death haunting me.

For all of my dream laden hours,
Love, eagerness, castles in air,
Beneath the blue skies I left there
In that faraway region of flowers.
Ah, do not appeal to my powers
To sing about love, for, like lead,
My heart is weighed down, and in dread
I roam through this waste without peace;
The pangs in my soul never cease,
And all inspiration is dead.

ME PIDEN VERSOS

Piden que pulse la lira
há tiempo callada y rota.
¡Si ya no arranco una nota
ni mi musa ya me inspira!
balbuce fria y delira
si la tortura mi mente;
cuando ríe, solo miente,
como miente su lamento
Y es que en mi triste aislamiento
mi alma ni goza ni siente.

Hubo un tiempo, si, y es verdad;
pero ya aquel tiempo huyó
en que vate me llamó
la indulgencia ó la amistad.
Ahora, de aquella edad
el recuerdo apenas resta,
como quedan de una fiesta
los misteriosos sonidos,
que retienen los oidos
del bullicio de la orquesta.

Soy planta apenas crecida
arrancada del Oriente,
donde es perfume el ambiente,
donde es un sueño la vida;
Patría que jamás se olvida
Enseñáronme á cantar
las aves, con su trinar,
con su rumor, las cascadas;
y en sus playas dilatadas,
los murmurios de la mar.

Mientras en la infancia mía
pude á su sol senreir,
dentro de mi pecho hervir
volcán de fuego sentía;
vate fuí, porque podia
con mis versos, con mi aliento,
decir al rápido viento:
<<>>

La dejé. . . . Mis patrios lares,
¡Arbol deshojado y seco!
ya no repiten el eco
de mis pasados cantares.
yo crucé los vastos mares

ansiando cambiar de suerte,
y mi locura no advierte
que, en vez del bien que buscaba,
conmigo la mar surcaba
el espectro de la muerte. . .

Toda mi hermosa ilusión,
amor, entusiasmo, anhelo,
allá quedan bajo el cielo
de tan florida region.
No pidáis al corazón
cantos de amor, que está yerto;
porque en medio del desierto
donde discurro sin calma,
¡siento que agoniza mi alma
y mi numen está muerto!

Pinatutula Ako

Iyong hinihiling, lira ay tugtugin
bagaman sira na't laon nang naumid
ayaw nang tumipa ang nagtampong bagting
pati aking Musa ay nagtago narin.

malungkot na nota ang nasnaw na himig
waring hinuhugot dusa at hinagpis
at ang alingawngaw ay umaaliwiw
sa sarili na ring puso at damdamin.
kaya nga't sa gitna niring aking hapis
yaring kalul'wa ko'y parang namamanhid.

Nagkapanahon nga ... kaipala'y, tunay
ang mga araw na matuling nagdaan
nang ako sa akong Musa'y napamahal
lagi na sa akin, ngiti'y nakalaan.

ngunit marami nang lumipas na araw
sa aking damdamin alaala'y naiwan
katulad ng saya at kaligayahan
kapag dumaan na'y may hiwagang taglay
na mga awiting animo'y lumulutang
sa aking gunitang malabo, malamlam.

Katulad ko'y binhing binunot na tanim
sa nilagakan kong Silangang lupain
pawang lahat-lahat ay kagiliw-giliw
manirahan doo'y sayang walang maliw.

ang bayan kong ito, na lubhang marikit
sa diwa't puso ko'y hindi mawawaglit
ibong malalaya, nangagsisiawit
mulang kabundukan, lagaslas ng tubig
ang halik ng dagat sa buhangin mandin
lahat ng ito'y, hindi magmamaliw.

Nang ako'y musmos pa'y aking natutuhang
masayang batiin ang sikat ng araw
habang sa diwa ko'y waring naglalatang
silakbo ng isang kumukulong bulkan.

laon nang makata, kaya't ako nama'y
laging nagnanais na aking tawagan
sa diwa at tula, hanging nagduruyan:
"Ikalat mo lamang ang kanyang pangalan,
angking kabantugan ay ipaghiyawan

• 
  mataas, mababa'y, hayaang magpisan".
  Sa Kabataang Pilipino

  Itaas ang iyong noong aliwalas
  ngayon, Kabataan ng aking pangarap!
  ang aking talino na tanging liwanag
  ay pagitawin mo, Pag-asa ng Bukas!
  Ikaw ay lumitaw, O Katalinuhan
  magitang na diwang puno sa isipan
  mga puso nami'y sa iyo'y naghihintay
  at dalhin mo roon sa kaitaasan.

  Bumaba kang taglay ang kagiliw-giliw
  na mga silahis ng agham at sining
  mga Kabataan, hayo na't lagutin
  ang gapos ng iyong diwa at damdamin.

  Masdan ang putong na lubhang makinang
  sa gitna ng dilim ay matitigan
  maalam na kamay, may dakilang alay
  sa nagdurusa mong bayang minamahal.

  Ikaw na may bagwis ng pakpak na nais
  kagyat na lumipad sa tuktok ng langit
  paghanapin mo ang malambing na tinig
  doon sa Olimpo'y pawang nagsisikap.

  Ikaw na ang himig ay lalong mairog
  Tulad ni Pilomel na sa luha'y gamot
  at mabisang lunas sa dusa't himuntok
  ng puso at diwang sakbibi ng lungkot

  Ikaw, na ang diwa'y makapangyarihan
  matigas na bato'y mabibigyang-buhay
  mapagbabago mo alaalang taglay
  sa iyo'y nagiging walang kamatayan.

  Ikaw, na may diwang inibig ni Apeles
  sa wika inamo ni Pebong kay rikit
  sa isanPg kaputol na lonang maliit
  ginuhit ang ganda at kulay ng langit.

  Humayo ka ngayon, papagningasin mo
  ang alab ng iyong isip at talino
  maganda mong ngala'y ikalat sa mundo
  at ipagsigawan ang dangal ng tao.

  Araw na dakila ng ligaya't galak
  magsaya ka ngayon, mutyang Pilipinas
  purihin ang bayang sa iyo'y lumingap
  at siyang nag-akay sa mabuting palad.

To The Flowers Of Heidelberg

Go to my country, go, foreign flowers,
Planted by the traveler on his way,
And there beneath that sky of blue
That over my beloved towers,
Speak for this traveler to say
What faith in his homeland he breathes to you.

Go and say. . . say that when the dawn
First drew your calyx open there
Beside the River Neckar chill,
You saw him standing by you, very still,
Reflecting on the primrose flush you wear.

Say that when the morning light
Her toll of perfume from you wrung,
While playfully she whispered, "How I love you!"
He too murmured here above you
Tender love songs in his native tongue.

That when the rising sun the height
Of Kainigsthul in early morn first spies,
And with its tepid light
Is pouring life in valley, wood, and grove,
He greets the sun as it begins to rise,
Which in his native land is blazing straight above.

And tell them of that day he staid
And plucked you from the border of the path,
Amid the ruins of the feudal castle,
By the River Neckar, and in the silvan shade.
Tell them what he told you
As tenderly he took
Your pliant leaves and pressed them in a book,
Where now its well worn pages close enfold you.

Carry, carry, flowers of Rhine,
Love to every love of mine,
Peace to my country and her fertile loam,
Virtue to her women, courage to her men,
Salute those darling ones again,
Who formed the sacred circle of our home.

And when you reach that shore,
Each kiss I press upon you now,
Deposit on the pinions of the wind,
And those I love and honor and adore
Will feel my kisses carried to their brow.

Ah, flowers, you may fare through,
Conserving still, perhaps, your native hue;
Yet, far from Fatherland, heroic loam
To which you owe your life,
The perfume will be gone from you;
For aroma is your soul; it cannot roam
Beyond the skies which saw it born, nor e'er forget

A Las Flores De Heidelberg

Id a mi patria, id, extrangeras flores,
sembradas del viajero en el camino,
y bajo su azul cielo,
que guarda mis amores,
contad del peregrino
la fe que alienta por su patrio suelo!
id y decid ... decid que cuando el alba
vuestro caliz abrio por vez primera
cabe el Neckar helado,
le visteis silencioso a vuestro lado
pensando en su constante primavera.
Decid que cuando el alba,
que roba vuestro aroma,
cantos de amor jugando os susurraba,
el tambien murmuraba
cantos de amor en su natal idioma;
que cuando el sol la cumbre
del Koenigsthul en la manana dora
y con su tibia lumbre
anima el valle, el bosque y la espesura,
saluda a ese sol aun en su aurora,
al que en su patria en el cenit fulgura !
y contad aquel dia
cuando os cogia al borde del sendero,
entre ruinas del feudal castillo,
orilla al Neckar, o a la selva umbria.
Contad lo que os decia ,
cuando, con gran ciudado
entre las paginas de un libro usado
vuestras flexibles hojas oprimia.

Llevad, llevad, oh flores !
amor a mis amores
paz a mi pais y a su fecunda tierra,
fe a sus hombres, virtud a sus mujeres,
salud a dulces seres
que el paternal, sagrado hogar encierra ...

Cuando to queis la playa,
el beso os imprimo
depositadlo en ala de la brisa,
por que con ella vaya
y bese cuanto adora, amo y estimo.

Mas ay llegareis flores,
conservareis quizas vuestras colores,
pero lejos del patrio, heroico suelo
a quien debeis la vida:
que aroma es alma, y no abandona el cielo,
cuya luz viera en su nacer, ni olvida.

Sa Mga Bulaklak Ng Heidelberg

Pumaroon kayo sa mutya kong bayang pinakamamahal,
O mga bulaklak na hasik sa landas niyong manlalakbay,
At doon, sa silong ng maaliwalas na langit na bughaw,
Sa mga mahal ko'y di nagpapabaya't laging nagbabantay,
Inyong ibalita itong pananalig na sa puso'y taglay
Ng abang lagalag na di lumilimot sa nilisang bayan.

Pumaroon kayo, inyong ibalitang madilim-dilim pa,
Kung kayo, sa bati ng bukang-liwayway, ay bumubukad na,
Sa pampang ng Neckar na lubhang malamig ay naroon siya,
At sa inyong tabi'y inyong namamasid na parang estatuwa,
Ang Tagsibol doong hindi nagbabago'y binubulay niya.

Inyong ibalitang kung sinisingil na ng bukang-liwayway
Ang buwis na bango ng inyong talulot pag ngiti ng araw,
Habang bumubulong ang bagong umagang halik ang kasabay
Ng "Kung inyo lamang nababatid sana yaring pagmamahal!"
Siya'y may bulong ding inaawit-awit sa katahimikan,
Kundiman ng puso na sa kanyang wika'y inyong napakinggan.

At kung sa taluktok niyong Koenigsthul ay humahalik na
Ang mapulang labi ng anak ng araw sa pag-uumaga,
At ang mga lambak, gubat at kahuya'y binubusog niya
Sa daloy ng buhay na dulot ng sinag na malahininga,
Yaong manlalakbay ay bumabati ring puspos ng ligaya
Sa araw, na doon sa sariling baya'y laging nagbabaga.

At ibalita rin na nang minsang siya'y naglalakad-lakad
Sa pampang ng Neckar ay pinupol kayo sa gilid ng landas,
Doon sa ang tanod ay ang mga guhong bakas ng lumipas,
Na nalililiman ng maraming punong doo'y naggugubat.

Ibalita ninyo kung paanong kayo'y marahang pinupol,
Pinakaingatang huwag masisira ang sariwang dahon,
At sa kanyang aklat ay ipinaloob at doon kinuyom,
Aklat ay luma na, datapuwa't kayo'y naroon pa ngayon.

Hatdan, hatdan ninyo, O pinakatanging bulaklak ng Rin,
Hatdan ng pag-ibig ang lahat ng aking nga ginigiliw,
Sa bayan kong sinta ay kapayapaan ang tapat kong hiling,
Sa kababaihan ay binhi ng tapang ang inyong itanim;
Pagsadyain ninyo, O mga bulaklak, at inyong batiin
Ang mga mahal kong sa tahanang banal ay kasama namin.

At pagsapit ninyo sa dalampasigan ng bayan kong irog,
Bawa't halik sanang idinarampi ko sa inyong talulot
Ay inyong isakay sa pakpak ng hanging doo'y lumilibot,
Upang sa lahat nang iginagalang ko't sinisitang lubos
Nawa'y makasapit ang halik ng aking pag-ibig na taos.

Maaaring doo'y makarating kayong taglay pa ang kulay,
Subali't ang bango'y wala na marahil at kusang pumanaw,
Wala na ang samyong sa talulot ninyo'y iningatang yaman,
Pagka't malayo na sa lupang sa inyo'y nagbigay ng buhay;
Iwing halimuyak ang inyong kaluluwa, at di malilisan
Ni malilimot pa ang langit na saksi nang kayo'y isilang.

Al Niño Jesús

¿Cómo, Dios-niño, has venido

A la tierra en pobre cuna?

¿Y te escarnece Fortuna,

Cuando apenas has nacido?

¡Ay, triste! Del Cielo Rey

Y llega cual vil humano!

¿No quieres ser soberano,

Sino Pastor de tu grey?

To the Child Jesus

Why have you come to earth, 
Child-God, in a poor manger? 
Does Fortune find you a stranger 
from the moment of your birth? 
Alas, of heavenly stock 
now turned an earthly resident! 
Do you not wish to be president 
but the shepherd of your flock?


Sa Sanggol Na Si Jesus

O Diyos na Sanggol, paano ba kaya't
Ang sinilangan Mo ay sabsabang aba?
Diyata't di pa man ay pag-alipusta
Ang dulot ng Palad sa Iyong pagbaba?
Kaylungkot! O hari ng Sangkalangitan,
Nagkatawang-tao't sa lupa'y tumahan,
Hindi Mo ba ibig na Haring matanghal
Kundi Pastol namin na kawan Mong mahal?
Isinalin sa Tagalog dikilala